Consuming Too Much Bad News and the Danger of Despair

Omar Suleiman

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Channel: Omar Suleiman

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Salam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh everyone send out mama hain and then handed in Lahaina Amanda who want to stay in a hornet's nest understanding we're not may not be here when until I could have easily went a little bit longer premium and surely unforeseen Omen see ammonia nominee the level to Allah Allah mobile Allah or many little further howdy Allah I shadow Allah Allah ilaha illallah wa junta who naturally cannot work without Hammond you will you meet with Jorge you layer more to be able to good flavor Hawaiian Aquila Shane Cody, Russia, Donna Mohammed Abdul water Sulu. wasafi Yahuwah Halina Adela Manitoba lava risotto nos, Kesha for lahoma whatever I can add him or

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her to the label or label her kanheri her lazy vine her inner Haddock Friday of last summer tasleem right early he was like up here one minute standing between the TV on the dean along there and I mean home I mean I am and I'm gonna slowly how to ask but how cool that was on the sub. I mean, I mean also you can whenever we talk a lot, aka Mr. Rabbit hardcore Carla Talia. And Alina Amenhotep law hacker to high to

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low and to Muslim on you and NASA Taco Bell Camila v Kanaka. From a nurse and wider or Salah caminhadas o jaha or bethlem in humare. JOHN and Kathy are all Juanita. What's up La Liga, Tessa and we want to be one of ham in a lot of Canada and a camera fever.

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Yeah, you were living in Ireland and tequila Haku Colin said either you're American, we'll come on your query la hora, sudo *a defassa frozen, Avi mathema. Barrett, I want to welcome you all, to this Friday message. We begin with the praise of a Lost Planet Allah, we ask him to send his peace and blessings upon His messengers and prophets, his prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his family, his companions and those that follow until the day of judgment, and we ask Allah to allow us to follow in their blessing path a lot more. I mean, so I've been doing a lot of reflection on what to talk about this Friday in particular. And I thought about, you know, how, how much bad

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news there has been, how much despair there is, and how we're dealing with all of this news that's coming our way. But at the same time, unfortunately, one of the things that's happening is that in the process of all of that bad news, and despairs, it's not just making us more attentive. It's, it's, it's causing us to shut off and not really do anything with the circumstances, not feeling like we have any power. There is this feeling of Judgment Day, you know, resurrection in the background. And the thing is, is that you have to find this balance where you process all of that, because it's good to be reminded of our mortality, it's good to be reminded of the Day of Judgment,

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it's good to be reminded of our vulnerabilities, it's good to be reminded about our health, all of these things are positive. But at the same time, it's important for us to stay activated and to feel like we still have a way forward, right. And so what a lot of warns about of despair is very important. And one of the things that was really interesting, this hadith that I was reflecting on and how it would apply to our circumstances. Now, even a lot protects us from some bad news and some gloom, not not not protecting us in the sense of protecting us from knowing about what's out there. So we have mentions of punishment, we have mentions of doom. And we have mentions of the punishment

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of the grave and the punishment of the hereafter. We have these things in the portal, and we have them in the Senate, and it's a balance, you have reward, and then you have punishment, you have hope. And then you have fear, and the believer lives between hope and fear. And they you have to have a healthy balance between the two, your hope cannot become delusion to where you're complacent and heedless. Your fear cannot become despair, to where you're shut off, and you don't do anything because you feel like you have no chance at salvation and no chance of good or you're not deserving of any type of salvation or any type of good. So that balance is there. And there's this one Hadith

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about how even a law protects us in a way, and that is where the profits in the long run. He was seldom he was talking about the punishment of the grave, right and the things that happen in the grave. Now obviously, the grave is the first station of the station of the hereafter. And that's why it's modeled the longtime man who used to weep at the grave because he said that if this station is good than everything, after it will be good. If you are living in a mini genda in your grave, then that is a sign of the agenda to come. If you are in a mini jahannam in the grave, it's a sign of a mini jahannam to come so May Allah subhanaw taala allow our station in the grave to be ease and to

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be a part of Jenna only to lead us to the ultimate gender the ultimate reward of Allah subhanaw taala right. So we know about the reward and the punishment, were sought to seek refuge or we're taught to seek refuge from

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The punishment of the grave and every one of our prayers, we are taught extensively about the importance of death, and how it is how the middle of that how it is the destroyer of pleasures, all of these things are there. But can you imagine how difficult our lives would be if we could hear the punishment of the grave? If we could actually see those things. And I remember, you know, when, when Google Video first came out, before YouTube was a thing, and before social media had taken off, and there were a lot of these videos that were circulating this before, what's up, it seems ancient now. And I remember these videos about the punishment of the grave where someone was testifying to what

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they heard, or a body was dug up or in the process of burial. The grave was not accepting the person or they saw snakes in the grave or Python, you know, all of these these different types of videos that would come out. And the Prophet sallallahu wasallam spoke to how horrified we would be or shut off we would be if we saw the graves of everyone if we actually had that glimpse into the Hereafter, and how it would stop us from being able to function properly. He said Salalah Horton, he was alone as he passed by a group of grades he says, In the Haverhill oma, tell her if you have already her for Lola, Angela to death no fanola Allah to Darfur. No, they're out to LA ha and your smear come in

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other bill compre lebbeus marrow minimal. So I'm gonna say that again, the prophets lie some says in the house, we have to tell her people worry her for Lola and let her know that they're out to LA and your smear come in other will probably love the smell Minho, the profit slice and I'm sad that this group of people are being tested in their graves, they are being tested in their graves. And had I not feared that you would not even Bury Your Dead. If you could hear the punishment of the grave that I would have asked the loss of what's added to allow you to hear what I'm hearing right now. Meaning the prophets lie Selim could handle hearing what he was hearing so alohar Islam and seeing

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of the unseen what Allah had allowed him to see. But the Prophet slicin, um, was saying that he had a fear that as an oma, as a people, we would not be able to handle hearing or seeing those things that he was seeing sallallahu wasallam because our capacity does not allow it. And it would actually stop us from carrying out the sunan, the traditions, the important rituals that surround death. There's another incident where the profit slice of them recognizing his capacity versus the capacity of other people. And some of you have heard the first part of this of youth incident where the Prophet peace be upon him. So like I said, I'm walked by a group of people and they were laughing

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obnoxiously now the prophets lie. Selim was one who used to smile and he used to laugh, right, the prophets lie, some was the salmon will hack and he would smile and he would laugh, though his laughter. Was was very noble and dignified. So the law is a meme, but not only would he smile and laugh, he would bring joy to the people around him. So you would smile and laugh from the smiling and laughter of the Prophet slice of them, but there is a type of laughter that is obnoxious, and that, that veers into the impermissible and that denotes some sort of an ignorance of the world and of our purpose in life. And so the Prophet slicin walked by a group of people, and he saw them

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laughing heavily, and he said something a lot he was alarmed that by the one and whose hand is my soul, well, not enough. cvrd had you seen what I have seen? and not knowing what I know? You would laugh little and weak, much? Had you seen what I've seen and known what I've known? You would laugh a little, and you would week much? When the prophets lie some left those people and this is an authentic hadith, Allah Subhana hota Allah revealed to him for Oh Ha, la xojo la. Yeah, Mohammed Lima to cognito everybody. Allah says says to the prophets, why Selim? Oh, Mohammed, why are you causing my servants to despair? Why are you causing my servants to despair? Now nothing that the

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prophets lie Some said was wrong, we should think about the hereafter. And indeed, the prophets lysozyme has seen things that we did not see. And he was giving that advice, not in the capacity of dismissing them. But he was giving that advice in a way to let them know that, hey, look, think about your purpose. You need to you need to think about your purpose. And this is indeed in the books of tusky and the books of spirituality that there's a good type of laughter and then there's a type of laughter that goes a little too far and denotes a form of ignorance and delusion. But the fact that Allah subhanaw taala says to the Prophet civil Isola, why did you cause my servants to

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despair? And the Prophet slicin goes back to them and he says Mr. Shido, was suddenly do a carnival. Okay. So give good news. And the zero was suddenly do and guide people will call people and bring them as close as possible meaning you want to give them the

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Proper doses, the proper messaging of hope and fear of mercy and punishment that would cause them to ultimately drive themselves towards Allah's mercy and not find themselves in the category of punishment, not all of us are inherently imbalanced and the Prophet slicin was the most balanced of all right, all of us have to find that balance. And sometimes, you know, we risk in talking so much about mercy, we risk leading people to complacency and sometimes we risk and talking so much about punishment, even out of love for people and consequences, worldly consequences and consequences in the hereafter. We risk people becoming too, you know, or despairing from a loss of habitat and

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feeling like they have no path back to Allah and they have no path to good and then everything is going to fall apart for them. But the fact that Allah subhanho wa Taala said that to the revealed to the profit, slice them and the profit slice and went back and the Prophet sallallahu wasallam said, give good news and guide the people, and we'll call it evil and bring them as close to perfection as possible. They can't be perfect, but bring them as close to perfection as possible, is very important here, it's an important lesson. Even Allah has spared us from some bad news, not in, in making us ignorant of it, we know of it. But there would have been an overload of it had we been

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able to hear what was taking place in the graves and some of the things that were taking place in the hereafter if we were to able to actually hear it and witness it, it would debilitate us and it would not be productive and bringing us closer to a loss of hundreds are causing us to prepare it would cause us to probably shut off. And so even a loss of hundreds are protected us from that. But a lot did not make us ignorant of it. And that's the key here we have knowledge of it, we know about it, we need to know about it, we need to strive to be amongst those that are rewarded in the Hereafter, and that do rewardable deeds in this life. But sometimes seeing or hearing too much can

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shut you off. Right? And it's important for us to know what that lever is for ourselves. And I was thinking about you know, as you see the imagery, the videos of

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the cabinet empty and you see the pictures and the videos that are you know, that are coming out of, of just horrible things that are happening in the world and obviously horrible things were happening in the world before the Coronavirus, right. The ER in Italy was already the ER and it wasn't it right these these ers but it was different because it was people dropping bombs and it was people shredded, shredded to pieces. And that, you know, and seeing those can be very, very debilitating. I need to know what's happening so that I can activate myself towards it. But if you consume too much of it, then you might shut off. And sometimes you know, I think to myself, what if what if in the in

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the 10th century, where you know, people are asking Was there no hatch there was, I believe it was the year 919 or 918, the Khatami a group that attacked the Canada

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that attacked Mecca. And they killed all of the Hajaj that were coming to Mecca that day. They filled Zamzam with blood, they threw dead Hajaj dead pilgrims into Zamzam. And they even could stole the Blackstone and there was no hedge that year. And if you were to live in that time, would you really be able to function? Okay, like if you were to live in that time, and you were to see the images coming out from Mecca, if they had news reports and social media at the time, and you saw the images of the people in Makkah, going to hedge being thrown into being thrown into these the into Zamzam slaughtered and massacred and there was no hedge, would anyone living at that time would have

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really been able to function? Would would they have been able to actually come to terms with the things that they were seeing? And the answer is probably not it was a mercy from Allah subhanaw taala to them, that they didn't see it. However, it was important for people to know about that the Crusades that were taking place the

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the massacre of Mandala by the Crusaders, the the way that the barbaric treatment of the people in Syria at the time and May Allah subhanaw taala make it easy for the people of Syria as they're, they're being treated in like manner now, but by their new oppressor, okay. And by the way, it was it was actually 930 the year 930 that there was no Hajj and at the kilometer had massacred the Hajaj if you saw what happened in, in Jerusalem in, you know, in the in the years that followed Mandala, right, all of this happened, the massacre of the people in Mandala, the conquest of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, the the pillaging of the Hajaj that we're going to hedge all that happened within 100

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years. Imagine if they had social media back then. Right? It would have it would have likely debilitate

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Everyone, right to where they couldn't do anything anymore. So it's important for us to, to keep some sort of hope to make ourselves aware of things. But to always know that Allah subhanaw taala has pulled people out of difficulty before. And Allah subhanaw taala can pull us out of difficulty now that whatever circumstances we are encountering right now, though they may be new to us, they're not new to Allah subhana wa Tada. And Allah was powerful then and a lot is powerful. Now, a lot is the healer, then and Allah is the healer. Now, Allah is the Most Merciful them and allows the Most Merciful now and he always will be. Okay. So we need to know that though these circumstances are

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unprecedented in our lifetimes, they're not unprecedented. They've happened before. People have been through these things before. And they've gotten through it. Now. Some of them passed away. And if they were righteous, if they were upon the house, if they were upon the truth, and they were righteous, and they were people who sought the mercy of Allah subhanaw taala. Then they gained Shahada they gained, they gained the best thing that you could possibly want, right? Your purpose in life is to do what will grant you Felicity in the hereafter. What more could you want? Right? And so people made it through before people will make it through Now, the question is, how much do we keep

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ourselves engaged? How much doom and gloom is good or bad? How much should we make ourselves aware of the bad circumstances of the bad news around us without being debilitated by it? And so just a few things here, and I'll actually share a personal story. You know, one time I'd given a hookah and this was right after

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it was right after the the, the beginning of the massacre of the Syrian people.

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And someone said to me, how can you smile at a time like this? How can you even smile? How did you know like, it's offensive to the people of Syria that you would smile right now. Now, granted, the hotel was about the people of Syria, we fundraise for the people of Syria, we made your app for the people of Syria, we connected people, we advocated for the people here, I think we had a protest that weekend for the peoples here, right. So we've done all of these things. And it's not enough, we have not done enough for the people of Syria or for the people that are being oppressed in Yemen or anywhere else. Right. We haven't done enough. But what I'm saying is, the whole point was about the

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people of Syria, we had action items for the people of Syria, and afterwards was the same setup. And this this this brother very sincerely, by the way he wasn't, I'm not I'm not condemning him at all, actually, you know, I get the place where his his disapproval and his discomfort came from. And I acknowledge it came from a good place. How can you smile at a time like this? Why are you saying so now? and smiling at the people after you just talked about what's happening to the people of Syria? And

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all I could think about was, you know, how is it that the prophets lie Selim smiles through the burial of six of seven of his children through oppression, persecution, being run out of his home, run out of his city, having his teeth knocked out through the trauma of thought if through the trauma of losing Khadija will be 11? Hmm. How could he still smile still a lot anymore? Send them and the realization so how is that it's a mercy from Allah, that Allah subhana wa, tada still allows us that Why? Because the reality is not smiling, is not going to change the situation of the people of Syria, being ignorant of the people of Syria and of their plight is sinful, okay? And neglecting

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people in hardship is sinful, but not smiling wouldn't change anything, it wouldn't make anything better for anybody. So the balance is in the person of the prophets lie Selim and the balance is what we learn from the Koran and from the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam about how to be knowledgeable, be acquainted, be engaged without being dejected, debilitated, and in despair, okay. On a personal level, I am never complacent with sin, nor should I make anyone else complacent with their sin. Sin is not okay. Okay. Sin is not okay. And I should not make myself complacent with sin, nor should I make others complacent with sin. However,

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what I'm confident in is not that Allah Subhana Allah will forgive me despite my insistence on sin. What I'm confident in is that Allah subhanaw taala will forgive me if I turn away from that sin. That's the difference between despair and a healthy consciousness and fear of Allah subhana wa Tada. So the confidence is not Yeah, law is gonna forgive me anyway. That would be taking the mercy part of this too far. Right? The confidence is Allah subhana wa tada will forgive me I have personal love a good expectation of a loss, that he will forgive me if I turn back to him, and that a loss of parents at his mercy will overwhelm the generality of my sinfulness.

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I'm trying to get rid of it because that's a feature of the son of Adam. That's just a feature of who we are as human beings. When I'm preaching to someone else, it's not that you're okay, where you are, right? You know, and I get it Don't judge me We should not be judgmental, judgmental, as in passing final judgment on the person, right or dooming the person to Hellfire or assigning a status of evil to them. Right, which buries them in their sin causes them to turn off for mercy and they never, you know, and they don't find a path back to a loss pans out. So what's the fine line? The fine line is that you have some good that is redeeming. Use that good to overcome that sinfulness.

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And you will find a loss of hand water and always willing, always willing to accept you. Right. So that's the difference between despair and taqwa taqwa and top notch woman, Rhonda Tila, okay, fear of a loving God conscious being pious.

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You know, that's the difference. And so how do we transfer that to these aspects of our lives with everything that's going on? The, you know, all of this that's happening reminds me of the power of a loss of patterns and my vulnerability. My view of the world right now with everything that's happening is not that it's all done and not that in any way that Allah subhanaw taala is incapable of changing the situation. It's how do I place on myself a sense of urgency that I am on the side of the favor of Allah subhanho wa Taala. With everything that's unfolding, while still believing that Allah subhana wa tada can change everything that's unfolding with one of mine to us, despite my

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sinfulness, right, despite my sinfulness, don't belittle your job. Don't belittle your supplication. And so make yourself aware of the world around you know about the world around you know about the bad news, but don't over consume it to a point that you don't do any good. Okay, avail yourself of the good that Allah subhanaw taala has put in front of you, and don't lose sight of the fact that his mercy overwhelms his punishment, that his that Allah subhanaw taala his power is there and that we can appeal to that and that we have the power of doing that we have open access to supplication to a direct line of supplication at all times. So May Allah Subhana Allah allow us to never despair

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but at the same time to never be diluted. May Allah subhana wa tada allow us to live healthily between the fear of not doing enough or the fear of displeasing him, and hope that Allah subhana wa Taala could forgive us and will forgive us, no matter what, so long as we turn back to me Allah subhanaw taala allow us to be driven by our love of him, and to have a healthy balance and a healthy flight back to him. Between the hope and the fear of a loss of power inside those two wings. May Allah subhanaw taala allow us to be a source of hope for people around us, but not to shut them off from the things that they should be doing. May Allah subhanaw taala guide us and guide through us

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May Allah rectify us and rectify through us May Allah heal us and heal through us along I mean does that mean little hidden to all of you for tuning in Don't forget to pray a lot to the Lord for like us even if you did also even if you even if you're dressed nicely even if you're in your living room and you've got a masala looking room, please pray your soul out of your forecast and we lost the parents are returned us to his homes soon where we can pray Jumana together and May Allah subhanaw taala allow us to reap the benefits of this blessed month of shutdown and prepare us for the most blessed month of Ramadan. We'll slowly learn more ceremony Nabina Muhammad right and he was

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Salaam Alaikum Welcome to life.